Health

A small group of registered nurses rallied outside Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital Thursday in support of adequate staffing at the Hollister medical facility, which is currently facing a financial emergency.  “(We are) focusing on safe staffing,” said Pedro Silva, an RN at HHMH and member...

The San Benito County Office of Emergency Services announced that they are trying to team up once again with local restaurants to run a meal delivery service that helps California’s older population.   County Public Information Officer David Westrick issued a press release on Jan. 13...

Mosquitoes testing positive for West Nile Virus are still active in a small area of unincorporated San Benito County, according to the county agricultural commissioner’s office.  Crews are scheduled to target the affected area with mosquito treatment on Oct. 18, with daytime temperatures expected to...

The historic heat wave that has gripped most of California this week has resulted in broken temperature records, prompted cities and counties to open public “cooling centers” for the vulnerable, caused power outages—and might have even damaged a stretch of highly traveled asphalt along...

For more than two years, people have clamored for the return to “normal” after the uncertainties of a pandemic. In 2022, we got a taste of normalcy, but it was far from being predictable. Covid-19, which dominated the headlines in 2020 and 2021, seemingly took a...

San Benito County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) this week announced the launch of a new program, in partnership with Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, to expand buprenorphine distribution by emergency responders to reduce opioid overdoses. Buprenorphine is a medication that helps reduce opioid withdrawal and...

Earlier this month the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Pfizer and Modern bivalent vaccine (“two strain”) boosters for everyone aged 12 and older, following completion of their primary series at least two months earlier, regardless of vaccine product used, according to a...

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Aug. 24 announced $300 million worth of zero-interest loans for struggling hospitals, including Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital which will receive $10 million from the program.  The Hollister hospital, which declared bankruptcy earlier this year, will receive the funds in the coming...

Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital's Ken Underwood and Michael Bogey were two of the four speakers in a March 27 “Tele-Town Hall” hosted by Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) and Senator Anna Caballero (D-Salinas). Underwood, the CEO of Hazel Hawkins Hospital, and Bogey, the medical director,...

The San Benito County Resource Management Agency recently shared the “excellent” news that it has received a $2.4 million grant from the state to help build the new Riverview Regional Park. The funds were awarded on Aug. 22 by the California State Regional Park Program,...